in Black and White | SEO Secrets & Insider Tricks

Where Does Traffic Come From?

Broadly speaking, traffic to a Website can be divided into two camps: Traffic that has been paid for, and traffic that arrives for free. But it is vital to remember that in the end all website traffic has come at a cost - whether it be in monetary terms or the time and effort taken to build that traffic – so it is important to never rule out on a matter of principle the idea of buying visitors. 

It has been said many times, but I'll repeat it here anyway: A website is not like a shop on the high street and you can't just open up and expect passers by to come walking through the door. This won't happen because the Web is different – the fact is that nobody will ever know your all-singing and all-dancing eCommerce superstore even exists unless you make the effort to let people know where it is. So in order to get traffic to a site it is necessary to promote it – you have to go out and grab visitors by telling them what your site is about and where to find it.

For most Websites the main areas of promotion are on the Web itself; and that is the primary focus of this guide. However, it would be foolish to neglect off-line promotion of your site, and you should take every opportunity to get your URL seen.

While I am on the subject: If you are developing a new on-line business and have yet to register the domain name then take some time to think carefully about it. Always try to choose something short and memorable if possible. Look at some of the most well known domain names:

www.yahoo.com
www.google.com
www.amazon.com
www.ebay.com
www.youtube.com
www.myspace.com

It is obvious when you come to think about it, but it is usually far easier for people to remember and type into their browser address bar a domain name that is short and catchy, rather than the alternative. For example:

www.robinsonsfastsupermarketshopping.com
www.greatbargainstobehadinourshop.com

It is also far easier to use the domain name in off-line promotion. Some examples of where to use the URL off-line to consider are:

• Your business letterhead / compliment slip / business card / etc
• Promotional giveaways such as pens, keyrings, etc
• Classified Ads
• Flyers
• Bumper stickers

(Short catchy domain names are few and far between these days so it might require some lateral thinking when registering something completely new.)

Imagine for a moment the enormous cost to some big companies of promoting a new Web business. There are the regular TV ads, perhaps even radio, almost certainly newspapers and magazines; and these are all off-line forms of promotion!

So, as I mentioned, don't neglect the off-line stuff!